Foraging by the stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride II. Intake and assimilation of food, protein and energy

Bruggemann, J. Henrich; Begeman, J.; Bosma, EM; Verburg, Petra E.; Breeman, Anneke M.

doi:10.3354/meps106057

Cited by 100 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Resource selection was further investigated using foray lengths, assuming that longer forays are indicators of preference (Bruggemann et al 1994c). Forays were classified into nine classes of 1-3, 4-6, 7-9, 10-12, 13-15, 16-18, 19-21, 22-24, [25 bites.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Porites is the most consistently preferred dead coral receiving the bulk of the bites, particularly in the reef crest and shallow fore reef zones. Comparable high selectivity is reported for the excavating parrotfish Sparisoma viride that prefers to feed on dead Montastrea annularis and Madracis mirabilis colonies (Bruggemann et al 1994c). This was attributed to the relatively low skeletal density of these substrates and the resulting higher yield per bite.…”

Section: Utilization Of Grazing Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is therefore difficult to compare their results with our findings. Bruggemann et al (1994c) analyzed the nutritional quality and biomass of the different epilithic algal communities in the Caribbean and concluded that turfs on endoliths have higher nutritional quality as well as biomass compared to turfs on crustose corallines. Moreover, the higher biomass of turfs on endoliths is likely to contain higher concentration of the detritus (Purcell and Bellwood 2001;Wilson et al 2003), which has been shown to be nutritionally richer than epilithic algae alone (Wilson et al 2003).…”

Section: Choice Of Biotamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The biota growing in or on dead coral, coral rubble, and limestone pavement were classified following Bruggemann et al (1994c) as turfs growing on endolithic algae (henceforth turfs on endoliths), turfs growing on crustose coralline algae (henceforth turfs on crustose corallines), bare crustose coralline algae, turfs growing on boring sponges (henceforth turfs on sponges), invertebrates other than corals (henceforth invertebrates) or macroalgae.…”

Section: Habitat Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relative abundance of substrates and algal vegetation types of the reef crest, shallow fore reef, and deep fore reef zones was determined using chain-link transects (Bruggemann et al 1994c). The reef flat was excluded as our visual surveys indicated very low numbers of Scarus ferrugineus in this zone.…”

Section: Habitat Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

2010

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Feeding ecology of three life phases of the parrotfish Scarus ferrugineus was studied on a southern Red Sea fringing reef by comparing availability and consumption of benthic algae during the monsoon hot and cool seasons. Dominant biota covering dead carbonate substrates were in decreasing order of importance: turfs on endoliths, turfs on crustose corallines, and crustose corallines. On the reef crest and shallow fore reef, composition of the biota changed seasonally. Cover of turfs on endoliths and turfs on crustose corallines was higher during the hot season, while crustose corallines and macroalgae (only on reef crest) increased during the cool season. Biota in the deep fore reef did not show seasonal variation. All life phases used similar resources and showed selective feeding in all zones. Turfs on endoliths, followed by turfs on crustose corallines, was the primary feeding substrate. These two sources represented over 92% of bites during both seasons. Crustose corallines, macroalgae, and living corals were negligible components being strongly avoided at all zones and seasons. Resource use varied seasonally on the reef crest and shallow fore reef, while it remained unchanged on the deep fore reef. Turfs on endoliths were consistently preferred in both seasons but their contribution increased from 45% in the cool to 70% of bites in the hot season. Electivity for turfs on crustose corallines shifted from random feeding in the hot (27% of bites) to selection in the cool season (47% of bites). Feeding pattern changed diurnally with more bites taken from crustose corallines and turfs on crustose corallines during morning. During the rest of the day, bites from turfs on endoliths predominate. S. ferrugineus shows limited capacity to exploit seasonal increases in the biomass of foliose and canopy forming macroalgae, despite indications of energetic limitation during the cool season.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Utilization Of Grazing Substratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Choice Of Biotamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habitat Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Habitat Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

2010

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When is an herbivore not an herbivore? Detritivory facilitates herbivory in a freshwater system

Sanchez

Trexler

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Herbivory is thought to be an inefficient diet, but it independently evolved from carnivorous ancestors in many metazoan groups, suggesting that plant‐eating is adaptive in some circumstances. In this study, we tested two hypotheses to explain the adaptive evolution of herbivory: (i) the Heterotroph Facilitation hypothesis (herbivory is adaptive because herbivores supplement their diets with heterotrophic microbes); and (ii) the Lipid Allocation hypothesis (herbivory is adaptive because algae, which have high lipid concentrations, are nutritionally similar to carnivory). We tested these hypotheses using enclosure cages placed in the Everglades and stocked with Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna), a native herbivore. Using shading and phosphorus addition (P), we manipulated the heterotrophic microbe and lipid composition of colonizing epiphyton and examined the effects of varying food quality on Sailfin Molly life history. Epiphyton grown in “shade only” conditions had a 55% increase in bacterial fatty acids and 34% lower ratios of saturated + monounsaturated to polyunsaturated fatty acids relative to the other treatments. Ratio of autotroph to heterotroph biovolume varied throughout the experiment, with a 697% increase at 3 weeks and 98% decrease at 6 weeks compared to the other treatments. Gut contents revealed that fish fed selectively on epiphyton to compensate for apparent deficiencies in the available food. Fish raised in “shade only” cages experienced the highest survival, which was best explained by autotrophic biovolume and algal‐ and bacterial‐derived fatty acids at 3 weeks (2–6× more likely than alternative models with ∆AICc > 2.00), and by percentage of bacterial fatty acids in the diet at 6 weeks (3–8× more likely than alternative models with ∆AICc > 2.00). There were no differences in fish growth among treatments. Autotrophic lipids play a role in early fish life history, but we did not find these to be the best predictors of life history later in the juvenile period. Instead, heterotrophic lipids facilitated the herbivorous diet and enhanced survival of juvenile fish in our experiment. Bacterial fatty acid content of the diet promoted herbivore survival, consistent with the Heterotroph Facilitation hypothesis. This is the first study to explicitly contrast Heterotrophic Facilitation and Lipid Allocation hypotheses for the adaptive evolution of herbivory in an aquatic system.

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Territoriality drives patterns of fixed space use in Caribbean parrotfishes

Manning

McCoy

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Animals often occupy home ranges where they conduct daily activities. In many parrotfishes, large terminal phase (TP) males defend their diurnal (i.e., daytime) home ranges as intraspecific territories occupied by harems of initial phase (IP) females. However, we know relatively little about the exclusivity and spatial stability of these territories. We investigated diurnal home range behavior in several TPs and IPs of five common Caribbean parrotfish species on the fringing coral reefs of Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands. We computed parrotfish home ranges to investigate differences in space use and then quantified spatial overlap of home ranges between spatially co‐occurring TPs to investigate exclusivity. We also quantified the spatial overlap of home ranges estimated from repeat tracks of a few TPs to investigate their spatial stability. We then discussed these results in the context of parrotfish social behavior. Home range sizes differed significantly among species. Spatial overlap between home ranges was lower for intraspecific than interspecific pairs of TPs. Focal TPs frequently engaged in agonistic interactions with intraspecific parrotfish and interacted longest with intraspecific TP parrotfish. This behavior suggests that exclusionary agonistic interactions may contribute to the observed patterns of low spatial overlap between home ranges. The spatial overlap of home ranges estimated from repeated tracks of several TPs of three study species was high, suggesting that home ranges were spatially stable for at least 1 month. Taken together, our results provide strong evidence that daytime parrotfish space use is constrained within fixed intraspecific territories in which territory holders have nearly exclusive access to resources. Grazing by parrotfishes maintains benthic reef substrates in early successional states that are conducive to coral larval settlement and recruitment. Behavioral constraints on parrotfish space use may drive spatial heterogeneity in grazing pressure and affect local patterns of benthic community assembly. A thorough understanding of the spatial ecology of parrotfishes is, therefore, necessary to elucidate their functional roles on coral reefs.

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Foraging by the stoplight parrotfish Sparisoma viride II. Intake and assimilation of food, protein and energy

Cited by 100 publications

References 26 publications

Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

Limited flexibility in resource use in a coral reef grazer foraging on seasonally changing algal communities

When is an herbivore not an herbivore? Detritivory facilitates herbivory in a freshwater system

Territoriality drives patterns of fixed space use in Caribbean parrotfishes

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